WCC NEWS: On eve of Biden-Putin summit, WCC shares hopes and prayers for peace 🌎

The World Council of Churches (WCC), with an open letter and prayer, shared its hopes for peace on the eve of the first summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents, which will take place in Geneva on 16 June.   Geneva, Switzerland, Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 14 June 2021 “From our headquarters in the same city in which you will meet, and from so many other cities, towns and villages around the world in which our member churches carry out their ministries, we will be watching and praying for signs of hope from your encounter,” wrote WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca in the letter. "Still struggling to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the world faces even greater challenges ahead in addressing the wider social and economic impacts of the pandemic, and in confronting the existential threat posed by accelerating climate change to the intricate web of life on our planet.” Sauca also noted the persistent and once again growing spectre of catastrophic nuclear conflict, particularly in the context of declining cooperation in arms control and increasing geo-political tensions. “As leaders of your two nations, with their particular histories and current roles in world affairs, you have a special responsibility for reducing tensions and achieving a stable and predictable relationship, so as to improve rather than diminish the prospects of effective global cooperation in addressing the multiple complex crises the world faces today,” reads the letter. “We pray that the God of life and peace will inspire and guide you in this essential task, for the good of your own peoples, for our interdependent human community, and for God’s precious and unique creation.” The WCC also shared a prayer for presidents Biden and Putin, as well as for all the leaders in all nations of the world. “May you guide them in the ways of peace and justice,” reads the prayer. “Grant wisdom to all in authority so that as they govern, we will be delivered from the sin which results in war and violence.” The prayer urges the good of all humanity and the betterment of the world’s environment. “As these two world leaders meet at this time, may you place around them counsellors and advisors, whose passions lie beyond the interests of the Russia and the United States of America,” the prayer reads. “May this meeting and others like it, bring to an end the evil being meted out to each other in varied ways.”   WCC prayer for the President Biden and President Putin Summit WCC open letter to President Biden and President Putin on the eve of their meeting in Geneva National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA Conference of European Churches See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland